[2025] UKUT 040 (AAC)

About wearing PPE

a written text of about half a page by AR, made on Tuesday 25 January 2022: this said that on numerous occasions whilst working with KH, KH had not been wearing a mask or visor; that AR had asked KH to do so multiple times, to protect the service users; that AR had made multiple reports in the last few months; that AR asked KH multiple times to wear a mask, and had given her one, but KH repeatedly took it off and pulled it down, leaving it on her chin throughout calls at premises of service users; that on Friday (21 January 2022, it would appear) AR had told KH three times but she still was not listening; that AR then texted the ‘oncall’ to make an anonymous report; that S (this would appear to be SB, the area manager of KH’s employer) then phoned KH to ask about the situation and KH replied “I am wearing a mask”, when she was not; that on Monday 24 January KH was again not wearing a mask when working with service users; AR gave her a mask but KH pulled it off within five minutes; AR again reported this to ‘oncall’;

a three paragraph written statement signed by SB (area manager of KH’s employer) on 25 January 2022, stating that the writer had received a text message from AR on Friday 21 January stating that KH was not wearing PPE (specifically, a mask) whilst on calls with service users; the writer said they phoned KH from the on call phone and asked if she was wearing full PPE and KH confirmed that she was;

a four paragraph written statement signed by KA (branch manager of KH’s employer) saying that on Monday 24 January she received a text message from AR stating that KH was not wearing PPE (specifically, a mask); KA reached KH by phone and KH confirmed that she was wearing PPE;

a “care worker monitoring form” of the organisation KH was working for, recording an audit by MD, a field supervisor, on 25 January 2022; this said: no PPE worn on entering; no gloves, no aprons; no mask on entering house; no mask on when I arrived; was on her chin, said she just pulled it down. This document was countersigned by KH; there was also an email from MD of the same date on the same subject, which she referred to as a ‘spot check’; it said that KH entered the service user’s house without any PPE on; that when MD herself entered the house a short time later, KH standing near the service user’s bed and still had no PPE on – her mask was around her chin and she was not wearing gloves or an apron; KH said that she had taken the mask off as she was making the service user a cup of tea;

a one page account of an investigation meeting on Thursday 27 January 2022 – on the matter of what was observed at the “spot check” on Tuesday 25 January, KH is recorded as explaining that she was wearing a mask but it was pulled down before she went in as she had recently been to Costa and was drinking the coffee while walking to the service user’s premises; KH stated that she went straight to the bathroom and so she had no contact with the service user upon entry; she said she then went to the kitchen to clean up and do the dishes. KH stated that she always had her mask but it sometimes slipped down; that she always wore her gloves; but that she did not always wear an apron;

a 1½ page account of a disciplinary meeting on 1 February 2022 with KH and a support manager; this referred to the 25 January ‘spot check’ and its findings; KH is recorded as responding that she always wore gloves but had just finished doing the dishes; and that her mask was pulled down because she was in the kitchen and had not gone in to the service user yet;

About conversation with Ms M

a signed manuscript note of one page dated 20 April 2022 stating that Ms M and another person were laughing about KH’s relationship with X and it was always on and off; it recorded that KH then said to Ms M that she would get X to come and sort her out if she wanted and also said to Ms M it would hurt; the topic was X giving Ms M sex; the note says that Ms M asked KH to stop on numerous occasions but KH’s response was to laugh; Ms M then told KH she had overstepped the mark on various occasions;

a four paragraph email dated 21 April 2002, referring to an incident on Monday 18 April; it said that these conversations had not just happened on Monday but had been building up for a while; that Ms M had laughed along before but on Monday Ms M told KH to stop but KH carried on; it said that KH goes on about X, her ex partner; KH also brought up Y, someone Ms M knows; KH makes out to Ms M that Ms M is having a sexual relationship with Y; Ms M feels very uncomfortable when KH mentions Y;

a short email dated 5 April 2022 in which the writer said they were on shift with KH and after the first shift she already knew about her ex leaving her in debt, her bowel movement, her sex life, her health; it said KH talked about these situations in front of her work partners and her clients;

a short email dated 4 June 2022 in which the writer states that on arriving at a client’s home and starting a conversation the service user raised concerns about KH; they informed the writer that KH had been informing her on a lot of personal problems that should not be shared with clients including menstrual cycles and problems like sore nipples that come with it, loose stools and other illnesses that should not be discussed

About incident with Ms E

a one-page “complaint record form” received on 22 March 2022; complainant was BW, an occupational therapist; the service user concerned was Ms E; the form states that BW called to say that she was not very happy with the conduct of KH and how she approached Ms E; BW said that KH was making inappropriate comments towards Ms E during the call on her, and making Ms E furious and upset to the point that Ms E kept telling BW that she did not like KH; BW said that KH had been expressing, in the way she was speaking to Ms E, that she did not like her, and it was uncomfortable to watch;

Other

the referral form (to DBS) from the domiciliary home care organisation KH had been working for; this indicated, amongst other things, that KH worked for them between July 2020 and April 2022; that KH was in her early 30s at the time; that in April 2022, according to the form, KH made inappropriate sexual comments to Ms M; and that Ms M had cerebral palsy and was in her early 40s at the time;

a one-page letter of 22 October 2022 from KH raising 11 points KH felt needed to be looked at in her investigation, including why she had not been interviewed, and asking rhetorically why she was always refreshing her stock of PPE from the office, if she was not using PPE with clients; it generally questioned a number of the circumstances in relation to KH’s employment which KH portrayed as unfair or as showing that she was a good care worker;

DBS’s barring decision process document: this found “definite concerns” as regards “any other attitude endorsing harmful behaviour” and “irresponsible and reckless”, and “some concerns” as regards “callousness/lack of empathy”.